Anonymous user: Both feature a plucky teenage heroine and an atypical love interest. Neither involves sappy eyeroll-inducing romantic dialogue. As I read Angelfall, I was immediately reminded of Sunshine, however Angelfall is a much better book. If you liked Sunshine, you might like Angelfall. I personally hated Sunshine, but enjoyed Angelfall.… (more)

I absolutely devoured this book. I'm a huge fan of most anything dystopian, post-apocalyptic etc....I was a bit hesitant that this has angels in it since my previous YA / angel themed books were quite predictable. I think that the main character Penryn is a wonderful heroine in this story. She is strong, realistic, and brave as she uses Raffe to try and find her sister who has been taken by the angels for some reason. Her attraction to Raffe was a bit predictable but I was totally OK by it. I think her schizophrenic mother is a very interesting character as well, she seems to have some advantages in this new world and uses her mental illness to her advantage. When I got to the last page of the book I was a bit upset that it ended where it did but luckily I had the next book ready to go! ( )

I joined Goodreads in October 2010 after finding it through Google in hopes of discovering my next favorite read after I had just finished the Harry Potter series. I remember seeing Angelfall left and right but I didn't pay any attention to it after I read the blurb. It just wasn't my kind of book. I didn't have a wide variety of tastes back then. I was finishing the Georgia Nicholson series and was really into celebrity biographies and food related science. I had no interest in reading a book about Angels, whatsoever. But, I am so glad I finally decided to read Angelfall. It has made me FEEL ALL THE FEELS, as the internet would say. After I was finished with it I was so glad I had World After sitting right next to me. Angelfall is just one of those books where you HAVE to read the next one right away. I have a special spot in my heart for books I cannot wait to read. Sort of like binge-watching a TV show on Netflix. But I can't make a person write faster. (I wish this world was like the movie Limitless.)

Susan Ee was a normal person once, now she is an extremely popular author. Susan has one of those life stories where you just feel happy that she went with an idea. As I was reading Angelfall I thought wow, this is actually a book I want to be reading, this is not an author that just takes a formula and runs with it. I mean, we all know those novels in the young adult genre that follow a girl's fight for survival, to be heard, to get what she wants, etc. But Ee created a main female character that never gave up, that thought real thoughts, that one could relate to. My mind doesn't even compute Angelfall in the same category as most of the other Young Adult novels I have read. I still love the ones I love and hate the ones I hate, but Angelfall was more of an adult-minded novel for me.

The first note I wrote for this book was: "Raffe will probably grow on me..." He did. But I didn't fall in love with him, although I did appreciate the slow-burning romance between him and Penryn.

Penryn is the main character. She is a 17 year old young woman who has a certified crazy person for her mother (she is off her drugs) and a 7 year old little sister bound to a wheelchair. The first thing we experience in Angelfall is the family's fight for survival after the angels have come down onto Earth. Gangs of humans have taken over, and what is left of other survivors either join them or fight for their own survival out of sight.

Penryn saves an angel... he turns out to be a seriously good looking tall dude named Raffe. (He was tall, right? In my mind he definitely was.) But in the struggle, her little sister, Paige, is captured and taken away to the angels' aerie. So, Penryn has to save her. Somehow she manages to get Raffe to help her with her journey to find the aerie and save her sister. Along the way we meet some characters at all possible places on the spectrum between love & hate. Penryn knows how to take advantage of her surroundings, she has learned from experience, she has taught herself lots of things-including martial arts, and she... get this.... thinks ahead! Planning ahead, to me, in young adult literature is unthinkable. I can't think of another series where a young female character is actually concerned about the cause & effect of their actions.

The ending gave me nightmares. Literally! I stayed up late to finish it and I ended up having my first real-feeling nightmare I have had in a long time. It involved the scorpions, zombies (for some reason... there are none in the book), and my own little sister. So, to say the least, Angelfall was incredibly real for me. From the relatable & lovable characters, the slow-burning/"come on already!" romance, all the way to the painful ending.

One thing that I did not like was Penryn's idea that "humans are savages" now that the angels are on Earth. I noticed this idea several times throughout. It left me wondering if this will be resolved in future books; will Penryn discover that angels and humans are alike in their nature (which she partially did, but I didn't feel that this was completely resolved) or will Ee make her realize that humans were most definitely savages before the angels came?

I would recommend this book to anyone. Seriously, anyone. It is one of those books I WILL make my fiance read at some point... Because I love it so much! ( )

I really really enjoyed this book. Not sure why it took me so long to read since it's been on my list for a while now. I enjoyed the character Penryn - she's a tough girl who can fight her own battles and will do anything to save her family. And I enjoyed the angels. The book isn't long and doesn't take very long to read. That mixed with the page-turning quality of the story makes for an intense read. Watch out or you'll find yourself skipping from dialogue to dialogue in order to figure out what happens faster. I am really looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. Recommended if you enjoy dystopia or apocalyptic books. ( )

When I first picked up this book, I didn't think it would be my cup of tea but after a dear friend recommended it, I decided to read it (considering our taste in books are very, very similar).

Well, all I can say is I was pleasantly surprised! Penryn is a kick-ass heroine that restates your faith that not all authors are subjecting their writing to pitiful Mary Sues and overdone plots. [a:Susan Ee|4890182|Susan Ee|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1370738953p2/4890182.jpg] picked up a subject that hasn't been seen a lot: What if Angels came to this Earth to wipe us out?

Whether you're a believer or not, the idea is pretty damn scary.

When Penryn's wheelchair bound baby sister Paige is kidnapped by the evil angels that have invaded the Earth with the intention to destroy it, she, in turn, kidnaps one of their own and sets out on a mission to find her.

Of course, her 'victim' is fucking gloriously gorgeous. His name is Raffe (or Archangel Raphael) and the fact that he's a grade A asshole with too much sarcasm and an attitude to boot only makes him more irresistible. After he lost his wings to the hooligans that took Penryn's sister, he begrudgingly agrees to help her out.

What I absolutely LOVE about this book is that it's not a love story. It's about survival, fighting and doing everything you can to save the person you love the most. Although they are sworn mortal enemies, both Raffe and Penryn understand that they must trust each other and work together to both get what they need. Throughout the book, an unlikely friendship begins to bloom (and burn) and maybe a little bit of romance, too.

It's not a plot that's been done and overcooked so much it's hard to digest. It's new and heartbreaking and really makes you realise (although entirely fictional) that you should never take anything for granted.

Why did you only give it three stars then?!

The ONLY reasons I gave this three stars is because it fell straight into the heart of the action without giving us any background information on how or why it happened. Penryn mentions a handful of times that the world went crazy when soldiers shot the Archangel Gabriel but that the attacks happened before then.

What attacks? Why did the human race convert into monsters, too?

She also mentions her father a lot and how he left them when Paige had the accident that left her wheelchair bound, but why did he leave? Where is he? What does he do? I'd have liked a bit more information on these details rather than dive straight into the action of the story.

I will most likely raise my rating once I read more of the series, but I would definitely recommend you read this book and if you do so, please keep an open mind.

I would honestly rate it 4.5 stars, but since I don't believe in half stars I raised it to 5 because of Raffe. No more explanations are needed.

EDIT (6/15/2014): I was just trying to check Google Voice on my computer, so I typed in "goo" then pressed enter because I assumed Chrome would help me. But of course it took me to Goodreads because I visit Goodreads so much more than I visit Google Voice. So I'm calmly checking Goodreads out. Everything's fine. Then I see Ms. Ee's post: Today only - Angelfall and World After for just $1.99! So now I own [b:Angelfall|11500217|Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)|Susan Ee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319887835s/11500217.jpg|16435765] AND [b:World After|12983100|World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)|Susan Ee|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379064538s/12983100.jpg|18142457]! ( )

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Book description

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

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▾Library descriptions

"It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again." -- P. [4] of cover.… (more)